In a blast from the past rivaling the popularity of video games,
classic toys are rolling into the marketplace at warp speed.
Leading the pack is the yo-yo: the wheel-on-a-string rumored to
have existed since 500 BC.

TV commercials on kid-geared channels like Nickelodeon have
boosted industry sales, but demonstrations and competitions are
credited with sustaining yo-yo fever nationwide. Middlefield,
Ohio-based Duncan Yo-Yos ships thousands of yo-yos weekly, and
sales have quadrupled in the past two years, says Mike Burke of
Duncan Yo-Yos. The company's latest marketing tool: lesson
plans for middle schools, where yo-yos help teach principles of
science.

Northcutt was moved to spin off The Yo-Yo House when, during the
1997 Christmas season, she noticed yo-yos were accounting for more
than half the sales at her educational toy store, Brainstorms. When
retail space freed up nearby, Northcutt moved fast to open The
Yo-Yo House and, between the two stores, sold 20,000 yo-yos last
Christmas alone. Since then, she's added San Diego and Chicago
locations of The Yo-Yo House.

Driving Force

Dust off the dreams you've cast aside--or brew some new
ones. It's possible using Cynthia Kersey's incisive advice
in Unstoppable (Sourcebooks, $12.95, 630-961-3900).
"The greatest natural resource??? is not in the
earth's waters or minerals, nor in the forest or
grasslands," writes motivational speaker Kersey. "It is
the spirit that resides in every unstoppable
person."

Thus Kersey sets the stage for 45 short, real-life profiles
chronicling professional and personal battles that resulted in
triumph, not only of the now-rich-and-famous, but of the
lesser-known as well.

Whether your entrepreneurial wagon is rolling ahead full steam
or you're ready to join a local chapter of Quitters Anonymous,
Unstoppable will inspire and entertain you--and prepare you
to overcome the most arduous of obstacles.

No matter what your track record of accomplishment or failure,
you won't delve far into Unstoppable before you realize
your best years may be yet to come.

It was 1994 and time for a theme-based holiday gift exchange--a
tradition among Andonian's friends. The theme was glamour, and
Andonian had a brainstorm: Instead of a boring bow, why not affix a
glamorous woman--a paper cutout version, of course--to add allure
to his gifts?

A student artist helped bring his concept to life, and in 1996,
Andonian launched an all-occasion line of stand-up magnetic gift
decorations (for re-use on the refrigerator) with messages on the
back. "I've always been daring, but I had no business
background," says Andonian, who took an entrepreneurship
course and attended a greeting card seminar.

Next, Andonian traveled to New York City for a gift industry
trade show, where he gained attention from sales reps nationwide
and flew back to Los Angeles with more than 40 orders in hand. With
Gift Toppers' 1997 sales topping $150,000 and a 25 percent
increase expected this year, the former waiter's formula for
success--"Two Ps: patience and persistence"--is all
wrapped up.

Food For Thought

Make it snappy: The most neglected room in the house may
be the kitchen, as time-pressed consumers continue to seek food
preparation shortcuts. By 2005, predicts a study by international
management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. Inc., many Americans
will have never cooked a meal from scratch.

Walk this way: Walking was the exercise of choice for
more than 76 million Americans in 1996--a 31 percent increase over
the previous decade, the National Sporting Goods Association
reports. (For more sports trends, visit http://www.nsga.org)

Who's online?: When it comes to the Internet, the
African-American consumer market remains largely untapped. A study
by Vanderbilt University reports 29 percent of African-Americans
own home computers, compared with 44.3 percent of whites. However,
African-American families surveyed were nearly twice as likely as
whites to plan to buy a home computer in the next six months.

Chances Are

Pondering the odds of landing a Small Business Administration
(SBA) loan? Now you can sidestep the guesswork, thanks to free loan
analysis software from the National Business Association (NBA).

The First Step Review disk series is tailored to SBA
specifications, eliminating unnecessary paperwork and making the
loan application process easier for both business owners and the
SBA.

The program is interactive and easy. "You'll [learn]
what the SBA wants to see and how they want to see it," says
Jody McWilliams of the NBA. To assess the likelihood of loan
approval, "just plug in the numbers, and the software
calculates and prints out your results."

If you don't score high enough, the software shows you areas
you need to work on before submitting your application. Follow-up
disks ($5 each) fine-tune your balance sheet, cash flow analysis,
business plan, and profit-and-loss statements.

For software or additional information, call the NBA at (800)
456-0440.

Room To Grow

By Sean M. Lyden

Looking for a way to get an Internet-related business off the
ground? Consider an Internet incubator like Phase 1 in Laurel,
Maryland.

Founded in July 1997 by Doug Humphrey, 38, and his wife, Lisa
Losito, 27, Phase 1 offers Internet-related start-ups office space
with high-speed Internet access; at-cost legal, accounting and
human resources support; and access to the expertise of Losito and
Humphrey, who used to own Internet service provider Digex Inc.

Universities and government sectors have housed tech incubators
for years, mostly as nonprofits catering to a broad spectrum of
high-tech start-ups. Losito and Humphrey's approach is
different: They're for-profit and accept only cutting-edge
Internet firms. "Because they're all
Internet-related," says Losito, "our members can share a
focused set of services and vendors as well as similar
experiences."

To enter Phase 1, start-ups must give up about 3 percent of the
company and must graduate--that is, move out--within 24 months.
"In the Internet world," says Humphrey, "if your
business doesn't take off in two years or less, it never
will."

For a list of Internet incubators near you, visit the National
Business Incubators Association's Web site at http://www.nbia.org